Journey to FFX2
by NW330
Summary: A teenager winds up in Spira and somehow ends up working for Leblanc against the Gullwings. R&R appreciated finally updated
1. Journey's Start

Journey to Final Fantasy X-2  
  
A/N: I'm doing yet another one of those trapped in a video game things. I enjoy writing them and some people enjoy reading them. This time the target is X-2. I've only beaten it with the Good Ending so I have yet to see the Perfect one but this fic begins at the start of the game.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX-2 or FFX or anything else that is owned by someone else here. I only own the character that gets trapped here.  
  
Chapter 1, The Journey's Start  
  
"How did I get myself into this mess?" I asked myself thinking over my current situation. Just a few hours ago I was in my living room playing Final Fantasy X-2 and now I'm face to face staring down the barrel of a gun.  
  
How did this start? Well let me tell you before I bite the bullet so to speak.  
  
It was winter break where I live so I had the week off from school. Believe me I didn't like my senior year very much, the work was so hard and so constant. My parents were both out of the house for a few hours so I hooked up my Playstation 2 and decided to try out my new game Final Fantasy X-2.  
  
The intro movie started easy enough but then the screen froze, though the music kept playing. I seemed to find myself getting kinda dizzy so I just shut the system down quickly and laid down for a little while. I was then having a dream that I was stuck in Final Fantasy X fighting Sin by myself and then I woke up.  
  
Still in my living room. Though my PS2 was turned on. The screen then started to make this low humming noise. Foolishly I brought my ear right up against the screen and then the next thing that happened was I was on the ground. My TV was dead and it seemed my PS2 was facing the same fate. I cursed my rotten luck and decided to go for a little walk around the city. I had nothing else to do now that my game is fried. Getting my red backpack, gray and blue sneakers, and my CD player and some music I went out to go catch a bus to the museum. It was better than nothing.  
  
The bus ride was painful. My head hurt from the electric shock I got and my vision was starting to get all blurry. I felt I should ask the driver to take me to a hospital or something. I wish I had. I stumbled off the bus and then in a blink I felt myself hit the ground. But instead of hitting concrete I hit a small bed of grass. Where did I go? You don't go from roads and sidewalks to this kind of place.  
  
My head pounded and I felt like I was just beaten. I was still wearing my dark green cargo jeans, sneakers, and gray t-shirt. I looked around at the people around me and they looked so different compared to me. There was this giant moogle person handing out balloons to people. Somehow this all seemed familiar.  
  
I paid no attention to the moogle person and began to walk into the heart of all the commotion. Overhearing some people it sounded like a big concert was being held. Now I know this looks familiar.  
  
"Don't tell me........." I said to myself. I knew I was standing in Luca from the looks of everything. All the bridges and structures looked exactly like they did in the games. This concert must be for Yuna then. Or at least her imposter.  
  
I continued down towards one of the docks and this is where my luck turned rotten. Nobody was around me and then suddenly I turned around and this large man stood in front of me. He wore this blue and purple set of robes with this strange hat thing, maybe it was a hood. His eyes were very slanted and they seemed to fit with his long face. In each hand however he carried two pistols. They were revolvers with long barrels and they looked powerful. He aimed the one in his right hand at my face.  
  
"I suggest you leave. Lest you run into trouble little boy." He told me in a very intelligent voice. He sounded rather smart. Of course I wasn't too smart to act or anything right away.  
  
"Don't you speak English? Leave." He told me raising his voice a little bit. Then I had this one idea. It was risky and I was sure I'd probably die but I decided to take it. I quickly reached to his left hand and took his other pistol from him and soon we were both pointing guns at one another.  
  
"Hmmm. I suppose you are not as feeble as you look little boy." The man told me smirking slightly.  
  
"You let your guard down on your left side. Just for future reference stay sharp no matter what." I told him.  
  
"Thanks for the tip, but I don't need advice from you." He replied.  
  
We must have stood there for around ten minutes or so just pointing our weapons at one another ready to pull the trigger. Then a voice sounded in the tall mans ear.  
  
"Boys! They're coming, get into position!" a female voice rang. She sounded kinda bossy and mean but there was this certain something to her voice that made me a little attracted.  
  
"I'm sorry but I must be going. I'll tell you what, if you give me my other gun back I'll let you live this time." He offered.  
  
"Fine by me. I can't explain it but I have this certain respect for you now." I told him. I have no idea why but it's how I felt.  
  
"As well you should little boy." He said as I turned the pistol around so the handle faced him. He took the firearm into his free hand and began to run down the way I was originally heading.  
  
I waited a few minutes so he could get a head start and followed him. I heard what sounded liked fighting going on behind me. I caught a slight glimpse of this girl in black with this big sword cutting up these guys in green.  
  
I kept running and eventually made it to the end of the dock. There was this large man standing like he was waiting for something. He was small but very large and had a purple outfit on that seemed to resemble to one that tall man wore. On this mans back was a large black shield. Unlike the tall man this short guy didn't seem to pay much attention to me.  
  
Then he turned and went down the way I had come. I sat on the edge of the dock and stared into the ocean. Was I really in Spira? I couldn't believe some kind of electrical shock caused this to happen. Why couldn't I have been playing something like Final Fantasy 7 or some other kind of game?  
  
I was quickly snapped out of my thought by the familiar sound of a woman yelling.  
  
"Ugh! You two need lessons on how to fight! Those stupid Dullwings made a fool out of us!" she snapped.  
  
I only saw her back. She wore this very loud purple dress and carried a fan in one hand. She had very short blonde hair and her body was nicely shaped.  
  
"I'm sorry Boss. I'm losing my touch. First some kid gets the better of me and now three little girls do the same to Ormi and I." The tall man from before said kneeling to this woman. The large man was doing the same next to him.  
  
"Some kid you say? Well maybe I should hire him instead of you two goons!" she screamed. Now I recognized her voice, she was the one talking to that tall man from before.  
  
"Well he's standing right behind you Boss. Ask him yourself." The tall man told her. I felt scared now. I didn't want this lady to be yelling at me now.  
  
She turned and saw me. I felt relief once I saw her expression change from an angry one to a gentle one.  
  
"Hello there kid. Did you really do all Logos said you did?" she asked me in a kind of seductive voice.  
  
"If that tall person is Logos than yes it is true." I was still nervous and kinda shaking a little too. She could tell and then she placed a hand on my shoulder which made me feel a little better.  
  
"Hmm. Do you have anywhere you have to be?" she asked me.  
  
"No. Why, I don't even know why I'm here in the first place." I told her looking at the ground as she placed on arm around me.  
  
"Well how's about you come back to my chateau with me and we discuss something. I'm sure it will be worth your time." She offered.  
  
I figured it would be a good idea. I had nowhere else to go in Spira so why not go with this woman. Better than wandering around.  
  
"Oh how rude of me. That "tall man" is Logos and that small stupid looking guy is Ormi, and I'm the mighty LeBlanc! The leader of the LeBlanc Syndicate. Who are you?" she asked.  
  
I didn't want to give her my real name for some reason. I was new in this world so I could basically start a new life for right now. I gave her a fake name, but let her know.  
  
"I don't want to give out my real name so you can refer to me as Aeon." I told her.  
  
"Aeon it is then!" she said as we headed to a boat.  
  
Well that's the first chapter. I hope its pleasing to some of you. I'm trying a new idea out and hopefully the end product will be great. Review away people! You know you want to! 


	2. LeBlanc's Training

Wow, I'm glad many of you made some positive comments on the first chapter. Well here's the second one for your reading pleasure.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or FFX-2 yadda yadda you know the rest.  
  
Chapter 2, LeBlanc's Training  
  
After a long boat ride and a short hike the four of us made it to this small village inside this cavern by the looks of it.  
  
"You're saying you live here?" I asked LeBlanc as I was looking in every direction I could. This was a strange place. Of course Earth didn't have such places that I knew of.  
  
"Its that large place right in front of you." She said pointing to a large looking place that seemed to be constructed into the cave wall.  
  
The inside was even more impressive than the outside. The stairs and floors were all so well decorated but this place seemed to feel kinda dead.  
  
"Well the reason I brought you here is simple. I'm going to get right to the point, love. You seem like you'd be cut out to work for me." She told me.  
  
"What do you do exactly?" I asked her.  
  
"The LeBlanc Syndicate is a group of sphere hunters. The name is pretty self explanatory. Would you care to try it out?" she asked.  
  
"Well I don't know what spheres are though." I told her. She looked very surprised. So did Ormi and Logos.  
  
"How do you not know what spheres are? Have you been living under Gagazet or something?" Logos asked in a very sarcastic tone. He was kinda annoying.  
  
"Well I'm not exactly from Spira at all. I'm from this place called Earth. It's very different than Spira." I began. I sat down and told them all I could about Earth. They seemed very entertained by my tale.  
  
"Interesting. Well this is great. That brat Yuna had a guardian from another world and she defeated Sin so if we have a kid from another world who knows what could happen." LeBlanc celebrated.  
  
"Well I don't know how to use weapons or anything. Well except for guns but I'm not an expert with them." I told her.  
  
"Well I could put you through some training with some of my other sphere hunters to get you ready for the real battles. Especially against those Gullwings." She said.  
  
"Well than I guess I could join. But would I get a choice of weapon and clothes?" I asked her.  
  
"The weapon yes but I'm afraid you'd have to dress like the rest of us. But you'll adjust to my lovely colors soon enough." She informed me.  
  
It took a couple of hours but I already had my outfit and weapon ready for me. My outfit was the same blue and purple that Ormi and Logos wore except mine was a little different. The top was a shirt that had this metallic cover over my left arm and left hand. The right arm was free to move around but I wore a glove on that hand with my thumb, pointer, and middle fingers showing. The pants were these long loose shorts with one legs shorter than the rest and my boots were a basic dark blue color. Some of her female goons even styled my hair. It was short and brown and not as messy anymore. I must admit I rather like working for LeBlanc.  
  
My weapon was something I wanted on my own. I had gotten the idea from this game called Wild Arms and it looked like a cool weapon. It was this large rifle and the end had this long blade on it. It functioned as both a close and long range weapon. It was heavy but not as heavy as I imagined it to be. The rifle hooked to a strap located behind my waist. I smiled at myself when I looked into the mirror.  
  
"Don't you look darling." LeBlanc said to me as I saw her image appear behind me in the mirror.  
  
"You're embarrassing me." I told her.  
  
"Now all that is left is the training part. Unfortunately I've got to be running off to find this sphere before the Gullwings manage to get it. These two will lead you to a suitable spot to practice until you're ready for the real stuff." She told me leaving. Two of her female goons were waiting. They looked identical in their uniforms but you could tell they were two different people by the shape of their body.  
  
"Lead the way ladies." I smirked. I'll be the first to admit it. I flirt when I can, not always successfully but you know. The two of them led me to this wide open path going through this forest. It wasn't far from LeBlanc's chateau.  
  
"Put this one." One of them said as she placed this collar around my neck. "It attracts fiends to you so we don't have to wait here forever to see if you're cut out for this job." She said sounding kind of annoyed at me.  
  
In a few minute this small dog like creature appeared and looked like it was going to attack me. Reaching around I brought my rifle into my arms and was preparing myself for the encounter.  
  
I'll tell you right now I was scared out of my mind like you wouldn't believe facing down this slobbering hound holding a weapon I had never used before on a planet I didn't think existed. I wasn't even sure if I'd have the courage to kill this thing, but I'm sure it had the courage to kill me. Regardless I was in a new place now and the rules are different so I must adjust.  
  
The beast lunged at me. I placed my right foot back a little and moved to the side and it passed right in front of me. It turned around and came back for a second try. This time I had my weapon aimed for him. Pulling the trigger a powerful shot rang through the woods as the creature fell to the ground dead with a slug in its brain. Its body vanished into the air as these small little lights escaped its body. I knew those lights were pyreflies because I had beaten Final Fantasy X but I had not made it far into Final Fantasy X-2 so I did not know what happens in that. Though I'm guessing most of it will be different because I'm here.  
  
Then a new thought dawned on me. I would most likely meet Yuna, Rikku, and that new girl Paine sooner or later. Only I'd be going against them. I had the heart to kill this fiend but would I have the same heart to fight against those three?  
  
I snapped out of my thoughts when a new fiend appeared. It was this small blue colored blob. It looked like living jello but didn't move towards me. Instead it sent a small stream of water at me. The stream connected with my body. The water was very cold and it felt like the warmth from my body was stolen for a moment. It stung a little bit but I was still okay, if you overlook my now wet uniform.  
  
I decided to try slashing the beast. Running to it I brought my rifle up over my head and brought it straight down in an attempt to cut the monster in half. It connected but the creature was still alive. Its molecular makeup must prevent this somehow. I didn't have the time to ponder how it survived such a blow so I pulled the trigger. The barrel of my rifle was partially inside the creatures body so the slug must have dealt the killing blow because the monster seemed to melt into the ground and vanish like the fiend before it.  
  
I felt a little stronger and more confident after beating two fiends. I kept this up for a little while longer until I had beaten a total of twelve fiends. I returned to the female goons who looked to be nowhere in sight.  
  
"Where the heck did they go?" I asked aloud. I removed the collar they had given me and placed it on one of my cargo pockets. I didn't want to attract fiends any longer.  
  
I headed further away from Guadosalam, the location of LeBlanc's chateau, and made my way to this beautiful lake.  
  
This was the Moonflow. It was much more breathtaking than anything I had ever seen in my entire existence. The water looked so calm and gentle and the flowers were very pretty. Looking around I found the two girls sitting and watching the beauty as well.  
  
"I was looking for you two." I told them. I wasn't really mad at them for leaving me alone but I had wished they told me they were going to.  
  
"Oh, um, sorry about that. We were getting bored with just watching you fight." The taller and thinner one told me.  
  
"Do you think I did well though?" I asked them.  
  
"I thought you were fine. I didn't expect you to handle that weapon so well for your first time. Not saying you were perfect at it, but you were good enough." The smaller and more curvy one said.  
  
"Well what's next ladies?" I asked them.  
  
"LeBlanc just told us to let you train for awhile and then head back and wait for her. So I guess the three of us should turn back for now." The short one said.  
  
Walking together the three of us made our way back to Guadosalam. Before we made it back we encountered another fiend to deal with. It was this much larger creature with two horns that were attached to its back. It looked rather disgruntled at us and I doubt it would let us pass.  
  
"Well ladies why don't the three of us take him on?" I asked them drawing my rifle.  
  
"I could use the exercise I suppose, the other girls have said I'm getting fat." The short one commented drawing this fan. Her friend soon drew a fan of her own.  
  
They brought their fans into this strange position and their bodies began to become surrounded in this light. I was already firing two slugs into the fiend. It looked hurt by them but didn't seem to slow down. It then charged at me.  
  
I fired again but it didn't stop or even flinch. I fell backwards and felt like I was dead at that moment. Then suddenly this large burst of fire hit the creature. It stopped and fell to the ground itself.  
  
I turned around and the two girls must have used magic on it. How effective. I stood up and drove my blade into the creatures skull. It vanished in a cloud of pyreflies.  
  
"Thanks for the help you two." I said putting my weapon away.  
  
"If we let you die LeBlanc would kill us. She seems to favor you for some reason." The tall one said.  
  
"I wonder why. I mean I'm not as experienced as Logos or Ormi and she barely knows me." I pondered.  
  
"Well I think you're more mature than Logos or Ormi. Those two are kinda creepy." The short one said shivering.  
  
"What makes them creepy?" I asked as we continued walking.  
  
"Ormi is a nice person and everything but he's not too bright if you know what I mean. And Logos is pretty perverted. He's tried to hit on me a few times. Thankfully he knows when to stop if a girl says no to him." The short one explained.  
  
"Well this looks like we're here." I informed the girls.  
  
"You should probably wait for LeBlanc to return in the main entrance. The two of us have some work to do." The tall one told me.  
  
"Can I at least get your names before we leave?" I asked placing my hands behind my head. I was usually nervous when asking a girl for anything, even something as small as her own name but I felt a little more comfortable with these two.  
  
The tall girl was named Virginia and the short one was named Cora. I would hope I could recognize them if I saw them in uniform against. Those orange suits made them look almost identical.  
  
I went into the doors in the back and there was all this food on these three tables. It was all arranged so nicely but I was getting hungry so I took an apple and began to munch on it.  
  
After finishing my apple and discarding the core in a waste basket nearby LeBlanc, Ormi, and Logos entered the chamber looking rather beat up and tired.  
  
"Those blasted girls made a fool of me again!" LeBlanc shouted clutching her back.  
  
"Don't worry Boss. We'll get em the next time." Ormi told her. It didn't seem to help her mood.  
  
"Well I see one of us is doing fine." Logos pointed out crossing his arms.  
  
"What happened to you guys?" I asked.  
  
They had gone to the ruins floating over Mt. Gagazet and it turns out Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had fought them and won, and also beat them to the sphere too. The three of them fell off the path and LeBlanc was hanging on for her dear life, which was hard considering Logos was clutching her dress and Ormi had his legs wrapped firmly around Logos' midsection.  
  
"Ouch. Well if it will make you feel better I seem to have the hang of fighting down." I told LeBlanc.  
  
"That does ease some of my pain, but I still need a hot bath." She said.  
  
"Right away Boss!" Logos and Ormi declared in unison.  
  
"Need me to help you to get there. It must hurt to walk right now." I offered her.  
  
"I suppose so..." she said collapsing onto me. She was asleep. Wow, that really did take its toll on her.  
  
For a person my size I'm rather strong but I couldn't lift LeBlanc off her feet so I had to place one arm over my shoulder and kinda drag her. One of the female goons pointed me in the direction of her bath. They took over once I brought her there. I wasn't ready to see my employer undress in front of me. Well not this soon anyway hehe.  
  
There one of the male goons showed me to where I would be sleeping. It was a vacant room with a bed on it. There was nothing else there. It felt kinda empty and lonely but I was hoping I'd fill it with things in no time. I myself was rather tired from my day of running around this world. It must be about 11:00 so I decided to sleep.  
  
I thought I might wake up in my own bed back on Earth thinking this was all some wonderful dream but it wasn't like that. I woke up to someone banging on my door telling me to meet at the main entrance. Would I meet the Gullwings today?  
  
How is it so far? I enjoyed reading all the reviews I had gotten and I hope that I get more positive feedback as this continues. 


	3. Gullwings vs Aeon

Chapter 3, Gullwings vs. Aeon  
  
Waking up was hard to do. I was so used to just sleeping in so late. I was also expecting to wake up in my own room in my own house on my own planet. How long would I be stuck here in Spira?  
  
I quickly got up and got dressed in my own Syndicate uniform. It was a comfortable set of clothes. I'd have to thank the girls who made it.  
  
Running down towards the main hall I saw that Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi were already there waiting.  
  
"Sorry I'm late." I apologized.  
  
"We weren't waiting long. Now then today we're going to finally stick it to those annoying little Dullwings!" Leblanc declared with passion in her voice.  
  
"Buwahahahahahaha! We gonna give em such a butt kickin they won't soon forget!" Ormi bellowed.  
  
"Where are we heading to?" I asked.  
  
"We've tracked a sphere down to the Mushroom Rock Road located nearby the Youth League's Headquarters. It should be simple to outwit those little girls this time." Logos informed me.  
  
The plan was Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi would fight the three down on the ground while I hid on higher ground and used the range of my rifle to hit them from a distance. I was against the idea of hurting the Gullwings but it wouldn't be fatal shots. They would survive.  
  
We took a hovercraft down to the Mushroom Rock Road. It was a beautiful sight right next to the calm ocean.  
  
I climbed up a series of rocks and was high up enough so I couldn't be easily seen from the ground. I had a small earpiece that I could use to communicate with Leblanc and vise versa.  
  
"I'm in position." I whispered. "Ready when you are boss."  
  
"Keep us in sight but stay within a few yards of us." She told me.  
  
"Boss up ahead I see them!" Ormi shouted. It hurt my ear for a second but then that ringing went away.  
  
"Get ready Aeon." She told me.  
  
I looked through my rifles scope to see a magnified view. The could see them now. It was Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. The three of them had their weapons drawn and ready to fire or slash away at Leblanc.  
  
"Should I fire?"  
  
"Not yet. Wait until I give the signal. If the three of us go down its up to you to take them out anyway you can." She commanded.  
  
"You mean kill them?" I asked swallowing hard.  
  
"I don't want them dead, love. Just rough them up a bit. Send them running."  
  
"Copy that." I said sounding all cool like some military officer.  
  
"Well if it isn't the Dullwings!" Leblanc greeted the trio.  
  
"Fancy meeting the three of you here. You know the Gullwings are gonna walk away with this sphere today." Rikku retorted. She sounded the same or at least through my earpiece. I could hear everything Leblanc could.  
  
"Just let us take the sphere, it'll save you another trip to the hospital." Paine commented.  
  
"Don't be so sure little girls." Logos said. "The boss has a new weapon ready for you."  
  
"Aeon. Fire whenever you want. But for right now just aim right in front of them to scare them a bit." Leblanc ordered.  
  
"Green light!" I told myself aiming a few inches in front of Yuna's feet. I squeezed the trigger and the slug impacted the rocks beneath Yuna's feet sending pebbles into the air.  
  
"What was that?" she said sounding startled.  
  
"A sniper! Be careful!" Paine said looking around for me.  
  
"Shall I?" I asked.  
  
"I said fire at will!" the boss spat at me. I guess even she can get nasty on me.  
  
Taking aim I hit Paine in her right arm just below the shoulder. She clutched the wound. This would make sword fighting for her much harder without the full use of her good arm.  
  
Then I saw the six of them engage in combat. Leblanc created massive winds that stung the three girls and Logos was firing rapidly with his pistols and Ormi was throwing his shield around like it was some pebble.  
  
I didn't have a clear shot at any of them so I took my finger off the trigger and watched through the scope.  
  
However the worst happened. The Gullwings managed to defeat Leblanc and the rest. Now it was all up to me. How was I going to beat the three of them on my own?  
  
I dropped down from my camping point and ran towards them.  
  
"Well I guess this sphere is as good as ours." Yuna said walking up to it. She was then hit by one of slugs right in the stomach and was sent to the ground on her back.  
  
"Yunie!" Rikku shouted to her fallen cousin. The three of them then watched me approach them.  
  
Their eyes scanned me, looking me over from head to toe. They were studying me. It was clear to me they were all surprised to see me.  
  
"Since when did Leblanc hire another goon?" Paine commented still holding her sword.  
  
"The Gullwings I presume!" I said bowing to them. "Call me Aeon. It's not my real name so I'm afraid you won't learn that secret just yet."  
  
"Why are you working for her?" Yuna asked me. I was actually nervous in front of them but just hiding it with big talk.  
  
"She took me in. If she wouldn't I'd be all alone in this world. I'm not from around here as you'd say. Yuna knows what that's like." That comment seemed to spark interest in them.  
  
"Wait how do you know about him?" she asked.  
  
"We've talked enough. Now I'll be taking that sphere for Leblanc now." I said getting my rifle into position for using its attached blade.  
  
Paine ran at me with great speed and swung her blade at my midsection. I guarded it successfully but she was a powerful woman, I felt that blow through my arms despite not being directly hit by it.  
  
She made one error though. The barrel of my gun was still facing her. I pulled the trigger before she could react and sent her to the ground.  
  
"You big meanie!" Rikku screamed wielding her two blades. She too came at me with greater speed than Paine and was prepared to shred me to ribbons.  
  
I could barely avoid her blows. The only reason I could was because she was angry and not as focused. With one large blow with the stock of my rifle to her jaw she too joined Paine in a heap on the ground.  
  
"Please tell me what you know about him." Yuna pleaded as she was now on her knees.  
  
In my fury I was ready to fire at her again but I stopped myself. She had lost the will to fight so she was as good as defeated.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't know any more about him than you do." I said turning on my heels and picking up the glowing orange sphere on the ground.  
  
Leblanc and her men were on their feet already. They must have found the strength while I was fighting.  
  
"I could have done that." Logos moaned.  
  
"But you didn't! Nicely done love. Now I know how they must feel to win against me." Leblanc boasted proudly taking the sphere from me.  
  
"I'm surprised I did that." I told her.  
  
"Let's get out of here boys!" Leblanc said throwing a small bomb on the ground that exploded in a cloud of smoke. We all ran to safety after that.  
  
We piled into the hover we took to get here and were heading back to Leblanc's Chateau. I was happy we won and got the sphere but kinda sad that I just beat the tar outta the Gullwings.  
  
Once back at the chateau we watched the sphere.  
  
It was a fuzzy image of what looked like some man recording this big festival in Luca. Then he looked around and I saw something shocking.  
  
It was me.  
  
This must have been recorded when I arrived here in Spira. I didn't get a long cameo though as the man must have thought me to be a native of this world. That was the only thing of interest on the sphere.  
  
"Wow. I was in it." I told them. I explained how I believed this was around the time I arrived in Spira, they seemed to buy into it. I was still in my old clothes.  
  
"Well I'm proud of you today Aeon. I see hiring you wasn't a bad move after all. You two should watch your jobs if I were you." The boss told Logos and Ormi.  
  
"You should keep them. With the four of us against the three of them our chances of repeating today are more successful." I informed her.  
  
"As you wish. It's time for my massage so I'll be leaving you two." She said heading to her bedroom.  
  
I too did the same but once I sat on my bed I began to cry. Cry over being away from home, not knowing if I'd return, and I cried because I had just hurt the Gullwings pride.  
  
"I'm sorry." I whispered softly as my face hit the pillow. 


	4. Aeon Gets Some Sun

I'm glad I've gotten so many positive reviews. Thanks to all who wrote them.  
  
Chapter 4: Aeon Gets Some Sun  
  
I don't know how long I had slept that previous night but I felt rejuvenated when I woke up. My pillow was slightly moist from my tears and my face was a little dry from them.  
  
I got dressed and left my room. I was expecting Leblanc to have an assignment for me to do, but she had nothing planned for that day. She had already sent some of her men to the Zanarkand Ruins to check on these sphere waves they picked up.  
  
I was free to do whatever I wanted for the day. I wanted to just relax on a beach somewhere. She suggested Besaid Island which wouldn't take me long to get there if I took the prototype airship model the Syndicate was working on. It was nothing like the Gullwings airship, the Celsius, but it could still travel to places very quickly.  
  
I arrived in Besaid around the afternoon. It was a peaceful little place. I arrived at this path that led to a village but I decided to go to the beach instead. I knew the way considering I had played through Final Fantasy X a bunch of times before. Though knowing this place was just a game made me wonder if I'd ever get back to my world.  
  
It made me a little sad. I seemed to be stuck here in Spira but I don't think I'll ever go back home. I really missed my family and friends already, and I'm sure they've noticed I'm gone.  
  
I sat on the warm white sand with my rifle next to me and just stared at the horizon. It was a nice sight. But then something interrupted me.  
  
"Hey its that kid again!" I heard a perky female voice shout out. The voice belonged to Rikku.  
  
"Oh hell. I didn't want this to happen." I muttered.  
  
"So think you're gonna beat us to the sphere again? Well I've got news for you cause that ain't happening." She said getting right in my face.  
  
"Crid ib Rikku!" I spat at her in her own language.  
  
"Its one thing to insult me but to insult me in my own language! Grrrr!" She sounded really upset at me now.  
  
"There's more to him than meets the eye." Paine said to herself.  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you three but I'm taking a day off. Find your sphere, I won't stop you." I told them.  
  
"Well don't think you won't get off so easy this time." Yuna shouted to me. She really changed. I never expected her to get hostile ever.  
  
"I'm really not in the mood for this. I really need to think right now." I told them sitting down.  
  
"About what?" Yuna asked changing her tone to a friendly one.  
  
"Well it's a long story."  
  
"Tell us." She pleaded.  
  
"I'd rather not. I've got nothing personal against the Gullwings, but like it or not we're rivals girls. Maybe in the future under different terms we can discuss this further." I told them.  
  
"Leave him be Yuna. Standing around all day asking isn't going to get us anywhere. And last time I checked we were still hunting a sphere." Paine mentioned before turning and leaving the beach.  
  
"Go to your friend. Have fun." I said to them before returning to gaze out at the ocean again.  
  
Then this object struck me in the back of the head.  
  
"Sorry about that!" I heard somebody yell to me.  
  
"Don't worry about it." I said feeling the spot where the spherical object hit me. It was a blitzball. Those things hurt more than I would have ever guessed. Looks like the Aurochs aren't too good at aiming their passes.  
  
I wanted to practice with them but they were really only passing the ball around. It wasn't anything I haven't done when I was a little kid so I just sat there some more and admired the beauty of this place.  
  
Then I got up and decided to head into the village. I always thought the path leading there was very pretty.  
  
Getting my gear together I made the hike over to Besaid Village, killing a few fiends on the road. It was bigger than I thought but still had that cozy feel to it.  
  
I walked into the temple. The Hymn of the Fayth was still sounding through the corridor. I found that odd due to the fact that there was no more Fayth left and Yevon wasn't exactly trusted anymore. Perhaps I'd find my answer in the future.  
  
It was getting close to nightfall when Paine entered the temple. I turned to face her but quickly turned back to gazing at the statues adorning the large chamber.  
  
The two of us didn't say anything for a whole minute it seemed. Then I finally spoke up.  
  
"Yes?" I asked.  
  
"I felt nostalgic and decided to come here. I didn't expect you to be in a place like this? Did you have some affiliation with Yevon in the past?"  
  
"No. Yevon wasn't a very nice system of beliefs. The only thing I really liked about it was the prayer. It was a catchy hand gesture." I said chuckling at the idea.  
  
"If I had seen you before finding out you were in the Syndicate I would never have believed it." She told me.  
  
"I never thought I'd join them either. It was just the best choice I had at the time really. It was that or probably starve to death in Luca."  
  
"I should probably return to the tent for now. Before Rikku comes in here and starts making a scene." She said leaving.  
  
Before she left the temple though I had to tell her something. "I'm sorry."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"I feel bad for having to have beaten you three up like that. I mean I have no problem killing fiends but fighting my own species is something I have a hard time with. Humans just seem to kill each other."  
  
"Apology accepted, but don't think that means I won't go easy on you next time our blades clash together." She said smiling. Even with her back to me I could tell she was smiling just by the sound of her voice.  
  
She left the temple and I was decided what to do now. I'm not sure about Paine but it felt like the two of us connected in here.  
  
I left the temple and soon had the Syndicate take me back to Guadosalam. It was a nice trip, I slept the entire way.  
  
I arrived back in my room and decorated it a bit. It only had the things in my backpack around the place but it felt more like...home.  
  
"But this isn't my home." I told myself. I was right too, this wasn't my home. Most people if offered the chance to be here would take it. Right now I hated being here. I was trapped in some stupid video game with no obvious way out and its frustrating!  
  
Then there was a knock at my door. I expected Leblanc, Ormi, or Logos but it wasn't any of them. It was that short girl from before. You remember Cora right? She was one of the Syndicate girls that went with me that day of training. She was still in her uniform and I had yet to see her face.  
  
"Hello there Aeon. Feels weird calling you that." She giggled.  
  
"What brings you over here Cora?" I asked her.  
  
"Have you ever been to those Hot Springs on Mt. Gagazet?" she asked.  
  
"No I haven't. Why ask?"  
  
"I was heading there myself for an assignment and was wondering if you would like to come with me." She asked.  
  
"Like a date?"  
  
"No, this is business. Maybe in the future I'll let you take me somewhere fancy." He said grinning.  
  
"Ok why not."  
  
So Cora and I were off towards Mt. Gagazet. I knew if I found the Gullwings again they would fight me this time. Even if I was friendly to them we're still rivals. You can't exactly choose your enemies in this world can you? 


	5. Multiblast

Sorry for the delay, school has been murder.  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Multiblast  
  
Cora and I arrived at Gagazet rather quickly. It was still a long way but shorter than Besaid. The mountains were very tall. The caverns we went through were a beautiful color. It was a brilliant sight.  
  
"First time here?" she asked me.  
  
"Yeah. Why did you want me to come up here?" I asked her.  
  
"Learn more about you. You're an odd kid from what I've heard so far. I'm a little curious." She told me.  
  
"There's not much to tell about me." I said. "You really know all there is."  
  
"I guess you're right."  
  
I looked over the horizon and above I saw this large red airship zoom past the mountains. It made the entire area quake.  
  
"What was that?" I shouted.  
  
"The Gullwings. It's their airship, the Celsius." She informed me. That was one big ship. Made the Syndicate airships look like little toys.  
  
"I wish I could fly on a ship like that." Cora told me out of the blue.  
  
"Keep dreaming." I told her trying to avoid making it sarcastic when I was serious.  
  
"Yeah, I will ride on a ship like that one day. It'll be wonderful!" she told me.  
  
"I'm kinda afraid of heights." I told her. She might not have noticed but I was staying as far from the edge of the cliff as I could.  
  
"For the kid that beat the Gullwings he's so easily beaten by a long drop." She said making a hand gesture by smacking her hands together mimicking someone smacking the ground.  
  
"Shut up." I said.  
  
"I'm only playing. I'm supposed to be on guard here today so I'm going to head into the hot springs for now. I'll catch you later." She said waving goodbye. But before she left Ormi showed up.  
  
"What was you twos doing?" he asked us.  
  
"I was just escorting her to her post." I told him.  
  
"That's good. I'm searching here too. Are you heading back?" he asked me.  
  
"Yeah, I'm tired."  
  
"Well before you go I gots something for ya." He said taking a book out of his belt and handing it to me.  
  
"What's this?" I asked.  
  
"It's a book on firearms that Logos has. He doesn't use it anymore and didn't mind if I gave it to you."  
  
"What didn't he give it to me himself?"  
  
"He doesn't really like you. He still regrets ever letting his guard down on his left side. I'm not sure what he means by that."  
  
I laughed a little at that comment. I wasn't used to being not liked but it didn't bother me too much.  
  
The airship came and picked me up and took me back to Guadosalam.  
  
I went into my room and read that book Ormi gave me. It was called "Ammunition and Firearms".  
  
It contained various mixtures of gunpowder that would have different effects. I saw one I wanted to try out. When the slug explodes in midair it releases a large amount of light down on the target or targets dealing sizeable damage. I liked the sound of that.  
  
Finding those items necessary wasn't too difficult, Leblanc had a lot of things lying around down here. A few hours later I had made around 20 of these slugs. I was proud of myself.  
  
A male goon knocked on my door and gave me a letter. It was from Leblanc herself.  
  
*Dear Aeon  
  
I have some business to attend to but be a dear and go investigate Luca for me. I hear they are throwing some kind of game tournament soon and a sphere is the top prize. So why don't you head down there and win that for me.  
  
It was signed with an imprint of her lipstick but it was just the design on the paper. She probably didn't want to kiss every single letter she'd every write. So I hopped in an airship and went on down to Luca. Where everything started.  
  
The tournament wouldn't start until tomorrow so I had time to practice whatever game it was. I was quite the gamer back home. I remember playing a bunch of collectible card games and such. Final Fantasy 8 took many hours of my life with the card game in it, so addictive.  
  
This game was called Sphere Break and it was a number game. It involved a series of coins with numbers on them and a sphere in the center that contained many numbers. The object of the game was to match numbers of the coins with numbers in the sphere. You had to add up coin values to equal a multiple of the number on the sphere. It was very complex when I first started it, but I seem to have the hang of it right now.  
  
I got some coins at the blitzball stadium, which was hard to find considering the maps didn't change from Final Fantasy X. The coins were a golden yellow color with fiends pictured on the faces. They were very pretty designs, almost like works of art. I also needed a sphere to play with. This was rather expensive. The more money the harder the sphere. I wanted to challenge people so I bought the most expensive one which was around 4000 gil.  
  
I went around and challenged a few people and it was confusing at first. We each exchanged spheres and had to "break" that persons sphere to get a win. Whoever could break their opponents sphere first would be the winner. These silver coins were used too but they came free with the gold coins I bought. Those had no designs on them but had numbers on them that changed after every turn like magic, there was no mechanics involved.  
  
I played about five games that day and then decided to crash for the night. I found a hotel, which was harder to find than the stadium, because it would be too much work to go back to Leblanc's and then come back in the morning. The hotel was rather larger and had elevators working them. It was a nice place.  
  
I also had a nice surprise waiting for me when I arrived. It appears the Leblanc Syndicate has its own private floor with the nicest rooms in the building. That aspect just blew my mind, and this was before I reached those rooms.  
  
Once on the floor I was amazed. The carpets were all a luscious shade of pink with absolutely beautiful patterns running across them. Flower pots were set up evenly along the hallways with large pink flowers blooming from them. I was shown to my room and I nearly fell dead when I opened the door.  
  
Inside was the largest room I had ever laid my eyes on. This one room was large enough to fit my house in, and it was only the lounge room. The bathroom looked like it could fit at least 8 people and my bedroom was amazing. The bed was large enough for a family of twelve to sleep in and the color of the whole room was very calming, and yes it was pink.  
  
I was even told the men get their own lovely servant girls to tend to them, the women got male versions. The idea interested me but not as much as it might for some guys.  
  
Once in the lounge room I laid down on the round pink couch and two women approached me. One was shaped almost exactly like a model; tall, clean, you know? She was wearing a one piece blue bathing suit, you were expecting pink weren't you? She had smooth red hair that went down to her waist and her eyes were green.  
  
The other girl was smaller and more curvy. She had blonde hair that went to just below her shoulders. She was clad in a yellow two piece which seemed to accent her breasts, not that they needed it. She seemed oddly familiar.  
  
"Hello?" was all I could muster. The whole experience of just coming into this room was enough to cause me to faint almost. Good thing I was sitting down.  
  
"Aeon. I didn't expect you to be here." The small curvy woman told me.  
  
"You know about me?" I asked her.  
  
"It's me, Cora." She said with a smile.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you without your uniform on. I had no clue what your face looked like."  
  
"Well me and Sarah are here to make you relax and have your worries go away, even for just a few hours."  
  
"But how did you get here in Luca? Weren't you at Gagazet?" I asked.  
  
"Leblanc kinda demoted me cause I was slacking. She said it was this or I would get "the heel" if you know what I mean."  
  
"Ouch. She can be a scary woman."  
  
"Well enough about that how about a nice bath?" she asked.  
  
"The three of us?" I jumped, my heart about to leap from my throat.  
  
"Not naked silly. Right here." She said as Sarah flipped a switch on the table nearby and the floor opened up revealing a large hot tub. Simply Amazing.  
  
"Damn." Was all I could say. The two girls just giggled.  
  
Now I wasn't a stranger to women. I had many girlfriends in the past and right now I happened to be single so I had no attachments to worry about. So the three of us just sat there all night as I told them everything about Earth they wanted to know.  
  
Once night fell I went to bed. The two of them left to their own rooms. The servant people weren't allowed to be in the bedrooms while the guest was sleeping. That was a pretty fair rule to me.  
  
I lay under the covers, shirtless, dreaming about tomorrow when I would try to win the prize...no, not try to win it. I would win it! 


	6. Lady Luck

I know its early for the Sphere Break Tournament but I couldn't really think of anything the characters could do before it. And the rules had to be changed a little cause you really don't seem to challenge the other player in the game, its just breaking the sphere which isn't very different from anyone else's.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Lady Luck  
  
I awoke to fireworks in the sky. So many colors especially for the daytime. I got dressed, grabbed my weapon, and grabbed my sphere and coins and made my way to the square.  
  
I saw a ton of people. I even managed to spy Yuna and Rikku among the crowd. Would I end up facing them?  
  
Rin, the owner of all those travel agencies, was the guy holding the tournament. I saw the sphere on a small display next to him. I'd be sure to win that...or at least steal it from the winner, whichever comes first.  
  
After a long speech on the simple rules everyone scattered to find opponents.  
  
"Ah ha!" I heard a girlish voice shout from behind me. I sighed out loud and then turned to face her.  
  
"Trying to take another sphere from us? That's not happenin' buster!" Rikku spat at me while pointing an accusing finger.  
  
"Leave me alone. I competing here just like everyone else." I told her.  
  
"Well than you won't mind if I beat the pants off you than?" she shouted.  
  
I refrained from making a dirty joke out of that. "Well than I say we have a challenge on our hands."  
  
"Fine by me! Once I beat you you'll have to be my slave until the end of the tournament!" she yelled loud enough all of Luca could hear her.  
  
"If I win you'll have to kiss me." Now you're probably thinking 'Oooooh Aeon likes Rikku!' but the reason I chose that was because to Rikku the idea of kissing me was comparable to kissing a Funguar, or in other words "utterly disgusting".  
  
"F-Fine then! L-Let's begin!" she stuttered. I could tell she was thinking "Please let me win."  
  
We plopped on the floor and exchanged spheres. We set those and our coins down and began to play. Rikku's sphere was simple. The quota was only 25 with a 45 second time limit per turn. My sphere had a 45 quota with a 40 second time limit per turn. She looked determined to beat it.  
  
I began turning coins and scoring Echo Bonuses early on. Within 8 of the 15 turns I was already up to 17 and she was up to 15. Not bad.  
  
It was down to the last turn for us and we each needed one more coin to fulfill one another's quotas. I spotted the number I needed and flipped the coin. The sphere was completed and I had won by a number of seconds.  
  
"I lost!? No!!" she really sounded upset by this. It was kinda funny to watch. I wish Leblanc were here to check this out, she'd totally eat this up. I was actually laughing out loud at her.  
  
"You big meanie!" She stomped, throwing my sphere back to me. I gave hers back and she turned to walk away.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" I asked her. She stopped dead in her tracks. "You're not thinking of going back on our promise are you?"  
  
"N-no not at all! J-just making sure you didn't forget t-that's all." She stammered.  
  
"Where's that kiss?" I asked. She wore an expression on her face of pure disgust. "Don't worry I'm not poisonous."  
  
She walked, very slowly I might add, up to where I stood and kissed me on my left cheek. "Was that so hard?" I asked her. She was bright red. It was hard keeping in the laughter.  
  
"Grrr! Don't think I'll lose next time!" she yelled in my face loud enough that my hair blew back a little.  
  
"Tell you what. Just to be fair I'll do one thing for you right now, just pretend I'm your slave and you won but I'll only carry out one command. And no don't ask me to jump into the ocean or anything like that. Sound fair?" I suggested.  
  
This confused her a little. Just cause I beat her didn't mean I had to rub it in her face. It was a close match and I felt she deserved to humiliate me a little after what I had her do. I guess I'm just sensitive.  
  
"Fine then. I order you to carry me to all the way to the stadium. Once I find an opponent you can let me down." She said. Sounds fair, and besides she doesn't look too heavy for me to handle, hopefully.  
  
She went behind me and leapt on my back with her arms holding my shoulders. I grabbed her exposed legs and began my trek to the stadium. "This is going to be hard."  
  
"Oui cilg!" she told me as I lurched forward. It was kinda weird carrying Rikku around, we were enemies here. I was so thinking before I came to Spira that if we ever met we'd be like best friends and I would be doing this for different reasons, now look at us. She wasn't too heavy and her legs felt nice.  
  
We made it into the stadium and I saw Yuna there just finishing up a game of her own. She walked over to us and started to giggle. Yuna giggle? She really has changed.  
  
"What are you two doing?" she asked.  
  
"She lost a game we had. She had to kiss me and I wanted to be fair so I carried her over here like she wanted." I explained.  
  
"Rikku's new boyfriend." Yuna declared bursting into laughter. Rikku's body got a lot warmer and I could tell her face was beet red right now. She jumped down from me.  
  
"Yunie, not you too!" she said grabbing her head in frustration. "This is not my day!"  
  
I went and beat the person Yuna had just beaten so I was in the finals. It was down to three people, including myself. The last matches were to take place back at the square we started at. I had to run back if I hoped to make it.  
  
"I wonder who the other two are." I said aloud jogging towards the commotion.  
  
I came just in time to see Yuna stare at the ground defeated. It surprised me to see her be beaten by a kid. Well not really when you think about it. Little kids are usually good at these games.  
  
"So, this should be interesting." I said facing this little boy.  
  
"Beating Yuna was an easy task." He began.  
  
"I'm flattered."  
  
"I was about to say that beating you would be even easier." That little masked kid told me. I was gonna make him eat those words.  
  
"And I thought Rikku hated me." I mumbled.  
  
The match began and he was doing really well at first. But I eventually scores some huge Echo Bonuses which really put me ahead. Before anybody knew it I had beaten his quota while he was still 3 coins shy of mine.  
  
"Inconceivable! Impossible!" He shouted surprised as his sphere rolled over to him.  
  
"I wanted to warn you that I'm smart when it comes to numbers, but you seemed so confident I didn't want to shatter your hopes." I told him smiling.  
  
"Well we have our winner ladies and gentleman!" the news reporter, Shelinda, told all of Luca...maybe even all of Spira.  
  
Rin approached me and congratulated me on my victory and I took the sphere from the pedestal. It felt nice holding this in the sky as the crowd erupted in applause.  
  
After everything was done I went back to the hotel room. It seemed less breathtaking this time around. Both Cora and Sarah were there dressed in the same clothes as before, most likely a different pair of the same kind.  
  
"We heard you won. Way to go!" Sarah told me wrapping her arms around me.  
  
Usually I'd return the gesture but for some reason it didn't feel right to me. I don't know why.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked me.  
  
"I...can't explain it." I told her.  
  
"You could just be tired." Cora suggested.  
  
"Maybe. I just wanna relax." I said going to sit down.  
  
Then the door opened up and Logos came in, that was unexpected.  
  
"The Boss wants you back home on the double. No time to rest." He said matter of factly.  
  
I got my things and left my room. Logos stayed in the room before I closed the door.  
  
I caught him gazing at something. His staring earned him a smack from Cora. That was really funny. I hid my laughter because Logos still outranked me and he could probably outgun me any day.  
  
Once back in Guadosalam Leblanc was waiting inside wearing this huge smile on her face.  
  
"Well done love! I caught everything on television and you sure stuck it to the Dullwings." She said proudly.  
  
"I even embarrassed that girl Rikku. It was hilarious. Oh that reminds me!" I said holding out my prize, a dressphere.  
  
"Marvelous, love!" she said taking the orb from me. "I see it wasn't a mistake picking you up."  
  
"Is this why I was brought back here?" I asked.  
  
"No it wasn't. The Gullwings recently obtained this sphere from Kilika since the tournament and they are giving it to the Youth League. We're going to sneak on board their airship and steal something from them."  
  
"What are we stealing?" I asked them.  
  
"They picked up a broken sphere from Zanarkand and we have the other half. We're going to find that sphere and take it." Logos told me.  
  
"Sounds good. Are all of us going?" I asked.  
  
"That's right. You, Logos, Ormi, and I will be going onboard. Hope you're ready love." She told me.  
  
I was ready. But deep down I was kinda sorry about it. I had already humiliated the Gullwings once today and now I was going to do it again. I really didn't want to do it. It enough they don't like me but now they'll just abhor me.  
  
"Do we have any spheres I can record myself on?" I asked Leblanc.  
  
"Why yes. What's the reason?" she asked. I knew if I told her the real reason she might not let me so I came up with a lie.  
  
"Just a little something to leave the Dullwings once we get there. Kinda to rub salt on the wound one might say." I told her.  
  
"Very well. I'll have one brought to you as soon as I can." She told me.  
  
We would be leaving in a few minutes. What a day? But now I'm starting to think about Earth more and more. Would I ever go back, or would it just remain a memory and a story to tell people? 


	7. I'm Sorry Girls

Chapter 7  
  
I'm Sorry Girls  
  
I went back to my room and a sphere was waiting for me there. I didn't know how to use it. I pushed a button and it began to glow a different color. I assumed it was recording me so I set it down and began to talk.  
  
"Hey." I said waving to it. "This feels silly...talking to an orb I've never used before."  
  
I sighed and thought for a moment.  
  
"Gullwings, by the time you've watched this sphere Leblanc and I will have stolen something from you. A broken sphere I think it was." I said sounding very depressed. "I don't know why we're taking it from you, but I feel bad about it, ya?"  
  
Ever since I played Final Fantasy X I got into a habit of talking like Wakka from time to time.  
  
"Humanity on Earth isn't different from Spira, we're just hurting one another. I seem to be a real thorn in your sides, mostly Rikku's, and I don't like it. I wish I could just explain everything to you all. I'd quit the Leblanc Syndicate in a moment but I owe that woman my life. She gave me a place to stay and put food on my plate to eat. I'd be dead without the boss." I pleaded wiping something from my eye.  
  
"We're leaving in five minutes!" I heard Ormi yell. It probably was caught on the sphere too.  
  
"I have to go soon. I have an idea, I'm going to suggest sneaking onboard your ship and hiding on it. If you get this sphere find me in your engine room. I think you have one I just hope I find it. Please I just want to talk with you all. Cause I don't want to be your enemy and I don't want to be hated by all of you." I mustered trying not to tear up.  
  
"Ever since I came here everyone has been calling me Aeon but my real name is..." I began as the door knocked.  
  
"Time to go! Move it!" Logos yelled to me.  
  
"On my way!" I shouted back. "Sorry." I pushed buttons again and it stopped glowing. Hopefully I recorded it successfully.  
  
I placed it in my pocket and left my room. I joined Leblanc and the others on our way to Youth League Headquarters. I was looking forward to it.  
  
"Oh boss, I wanted to ask you something." I spoke up.  
  
"What is it love?"  
  
"I came up with a plan to hide on their airship and hopefully learn some of their secret like where they are going and if they find a sphere before us. This would be the perfect time." I told her trying to perk her interest.  
  
"Hmmm. Well it would be useful as long as you are not caught."  
  
"Even if they caught me I'd get out. I beat them twice and I'm sure I could do it again." I said proudly.  
  
"Very well love. I leave it in your gentle hands." She said seductively. Leblanc had a knack for talking like that to men.  
  
"We're here!" A male goon announced.  
  
We got on their ship and nobody was around, it was empty.  
  
The inside of this ship was amazing! Nicely designed and everything, the technology was incredible, years ahead of anything on Earth. There it was again...Earth.  
  
Everything about Spira reminded me of Earth mainly because it wasn't Earth. We got on an elevator and went to their bridge and it was amazing. I just wanted to reach out and push every button I could.  
  
"I found it!" Ormi said in a booming voice holding up half the sphere.  
  
"I'm taking my place." I told them running to the elevator.  
  
I went down to the cabin and placed my sphere I made on one of the beds. Now all I had to do was make my way down to the engine room and wait for them to get back.  
  
I hid in an alcove under the stairs and just sat there. Then the ship started rumbling. They must have gotten on. However the sounds of the engine running made me sleepy so I dozed off while waiting.  
  
I woke up to wind hitting me in the face. I was on the deck of the ship. I got scared very fast.  
  
"How'd I get up here?" I yelled with panic on my voice.  
  
"We brought you." I heard Paine's voice behind me. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were standing there.  
  
"Did you three see that sphere I left you?" I asked hoping they weren't about to throw me off the ship.  
  
"Yes we did. It kind of surprised us at first. We never really knew one of Leblanc's men to just sympathize with us before." Yuna said as I stood up.  
  
"I still say he's lying!" Rikku shouted crossing her arms.  
  
"Why do you hate me so much Rikku?" I asked her almost crying. If there was one thing that would really hurt me it was the idea of being hated by anyone.  
  
I walked past them into the ship. I went to their cabin and sat on a bed staring at the ceiling.  
  
"Maybe joining Leblanc wasn't such a great idea. I'd rather have just wandered on my own than be hated by people." I said to myself.  
  
"Spira isn't much of a happy place. I figured the Calm would make everything all peaceful with no more fighting, but it's not like that at all. I wish I played through this game so I'd know why everything is the way it is." I said aloud.  
  
"What game?" I heard someone say to me. I stood straight up and was looking Yuna in her blue and green eyes.  
  
"It's a secret." I told her.  
  
"Where are you from? What part of Spira?" she asked me.  
  
"I'm not from Spira at all. I'm from Earth." I told her.  
  
She seemed a little shocked by that fact but she believed me. After all her lover wasn't even from Spira either.  
  
"What is your name anyway? You never said it on the sphere." She asked me again. That's right. I had to leave before I got to say it.  
  
"It's a little embarrassing to me." Then Paine and Rikku entered.  
  
"Can't be that bad." Paine told me crossing her arms.  
  
"My name isn't Aeon. My real name is Ashley." I told them. Yes its true. I have a "girls name".  
  
"I never would have guessed you had a name like that." Paine said. "But I never really guessed what your name would be."  
  
"I never would have guessed a lot about any of you three either. Yuna and Rikku have changed over the years. Can't say I know a lot about you though Paine." I told her.  
  
"How have I changed?" Rikku asked me.  
  
"You're not as nice as I thought you would be...meanie." I told her.  
  
"You get on my nerves kid." She told me pushing my face out of the way.  
  
"Is that all you wanted to tell us? That you're sorry?" Paine asked me.  
  
"Yes. I'm in a really tight spot right now. If I quit Leblanc's gang it'll be like saying I'm ungrateful for all she's done for me. If I stay there the three of you will have to come after me eventually. Does that mean you'd kill me if you had to? That question made all three pairs of eyes go wide. "I guess if it were the three of you it would be okay. It might even send me back home again. Who knows?"  
  
"Don't talk like that." Yuna said to me. "We won't kill you. That's not what we're after. I understand how you must feel right now, but I think it would be best if you went back to Leblanc right now. Perhaps someday we can all work together."  
  
"I guess you're right. But before I go one thing. If I was given the choice of working with Leblanc or the Gullwings I'd pick the Gullwings." I told them exiting the cabin.  
  
"Why?" Rikku asked me.  
  
"Palyica Yuna ryc y hela ycc." I laughed.  
  
"Oui banjand!" she spat at me in Al Bhed. The more I spoke the language the nerdier I felt.  
  
"Ouinc ech'd pyt aedran!" I said to her just to see her reaction.  
  
"Argh!" was her response. Making her angry at me was kind of funny in a way.  
  
I walked up to the bridge and the crew took me to the Thunder Plains, walking distance from Guadosalam. I managed to walk back without being hit by lightning. I, like Rikku, had a fear of lightning.  
  
I arrived back at Leblanc's chateau and just went to my room and slept the rest of the night. I cried again though. I knew that the Gullwings were going to face me again. Deep down I wanted them to kill me, just to end this suffering I'm having. I want to be their friends but this conflict is preventing it. I was also worried about what I was going to tell Leblanc tomorrow. I really didn't learn anything to give her. I guess I would have to fake it. I'm not bad at improvising anyway so I should do okay. 


	8. Gullwings vs Leblanc

Sorry for the extreme delay. Onto Chapter 8.  
  
Gullwings vs. Leblanc  
  
I woke up with my dry tears on my face. I've been crying while I sleep for the past few days.  
  
"What am I gonna tell Leblanc?" I asked myself waking up.  
  
I felt incredible sorrow. It was as though knowing I was alive made me depressed. I've never felt so terrible in my entire life.  
  
I've never thought I'd do it but I ran my left wrist over the blade of my rifle. I made several cuts. It hurt, but I kept doing it like I was caught up in madness or something. I eventually regained control of myself and stopped.  
  
I had several cuts on my left arm, not deep but blood was running all down it. I cleaned out my self-inflicted wounds, wincing at the pain. I got dressed, covering my scarred arm with the armplate I always wore.  
  
I walked to the main hallway and saw three female goons enter. None of them was Cora, probably still at Luca.  
  
They seemed kinda shocked to see me. As if they didn't want me to.  
  
"Something wrong?" I asked them.  
  
One looked like she was going to speak but stopped. They just nodded.  
  
They walked around. I went through Guadosalam and then to the Thunder Plains. This place was calming despite all the thunder and lightning.  
  
"What am I gonna do?" I said to myself. "Could I run away? Chances are Leblanc wouldn't go after me. I could be my own man. How long would that last?"  
  
This was tricky, that's for sure. I was doomed from the moment I ended up in Spira.  
  
I saw a male goon run towards me just then.  
  
"Hey! Boss needs you right now!" he shouted at me.  
  
"Fine." I said blankly standing and walking back to her chateau.  
  
I got there and went down to where all the rooms were, it was behind the wall in the dining room. I walked down one of the hallways and saw the three of them.  
  
Yuna.  
  
Paine.  
  
and Rikku.  
  
They must have been those three goons from earlier. They probably broke in to steal back that sphere we took from them. Now what do we do? If I let them go Leblanc will be furious, if I fight them than...I don't even want to know.  
  
"Ashley! I was hoping we wouldn't find you." Yuna said right off the bat.  
  
"We were hoping to not have to fight you." Paine added.  
  
"As much as a meanie and a pervert you are I really don't want to fight you either." Rikku added.  
  
This brought me to tears. Now they didn't want to fight me either, but my duty was to stop them. Wha-wha...  
  
"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!!!!????" I screamed at the top of my lungs so loud the gods could probably hear me.  
  
"I'm supposed to fight you three, but I don't want to. What do I do?" I said suddenly feeling the scars on my left arm.  
  
"Well let's just go easy on each other. Look at it as practice." Yuna suggested.  
  
"That's the best we have to work with so far. Might as well." I said bringing my rifle up to face them.  
  
I ran at the three of them. Yuna brought her guns to me, Rikku her knives, and Paine her sword. I kicked Rikku in her exposed stomach, turned, and shot a slug at Paine. She held her sword out and the bullet deflected harmlessly off it.  
  
Yuna then shot me in the side twice. It hurt, I felt the bullets in me but I was still able to keep moving.  
  
We traded blows with one another until I loaded that new ammo into my weapon.  
  
I aimed upwards and fired. The slug exploded in the air and beams of light and shot down at them. They obviously felt it, but they kept going. I just gave up.  
  
"Just go. I've had enough of this." I said putting my rifle away. "Please, I don't want to fight anymore. This conflict is killing me!"  
  
"Ashley..." was all Yuna could say.  
  
"Please just go." I told them moving to the side to let them pass.  
  
They ran past me. Yuna stopped in front of me but I wouldn't look her in the face, my gaze was focused on my boots.  
  
She whispered something to me and kissed my very lightly on the cheek.  
  
I looked up and saw them running to wherever they needed to go.  
  
What Yuna whispered to me was "thank you".  
  
A couple minutes later I stumbled upon Leblanc talking with them. Were they gonna fight? She would most certainly want me to help.  
  
"About time you showed up Aeon!" Leblanc shouted at me. "We were all talking about what to do next."  
  
They showed me the sphere they had assembled. It showed a giant machine by the looks of it. And this guy who looked a little like Tidus but not an exact replica. Our plan was to go into Bevelle and destroy this Vegnagun.  
  
"As much as I hate to say it we're working together." the boss said.  
  
I smiled. I don't remember smiling in a long time. This was a dream come true. If we work together than we don't have to fight anymore. Thank god!  
  
We all boarded their airship. Didn't look any different. I went to the cabin and sat on a bed and thought. I took off all my bulky armor and my rifle. My left arm was exposed. There were so many scars on it I didn't bother counting. I ran my right hand over each wound feeling where the blade sliced into my flesh. It made me sad.  
  
"I'll bet you're happy." Paine said bringing me back down to reality.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What's that?" she said looking at my arm. I tried to move it away from her so she couldn't see what I did to myself, but I couldn't hide it for long. Once she took hold of my arm I gave up.  
  
"What happened?" she said showing a look of concern.  
  
"It's nothing." I told her.  
  
"How did you get all these cuts?"  
  
"I don't recall." I felt very embarassed.  
  
"You did this didn't you?"  
  
"yes" I replied softly.  
  
She sat down next to me which kinda surprised me. I didn't expect Paine to be the compassionate type.  
  
"I don't even remember why I did it. I was just tired of living here, I felt I had to take it out on myself." I explained to her.  
  
"It's because you knew you would have to fight us. At least we're all working together so I bet you're happy."  
  
I began to cry again. Not because of sorrow but because of joy.  
  
"You probably want to be left alone." she said.  
  
As she stood to leave I took ahold of her gloved hand. "No, you don't have to say anything, it would be nice to have some company right now." I told her. She sat back down.  
  
I kinda just cried next to her for awhile. Then I told her if she wanted to she could leave. She didn't hesitate. Probably because she knew she didn't have to. Then Rikku walked in.  
  
"What are you up to?" she asked, but not in an angry voice like I expected.  
  
"Crying obviously." I told her. She didn't seem too surprised at the scars on my arm.  
  
"I'll bet you're glad that we don't have to fight anymore." she said to me kneeling in front of me.  
  
"I am. Why are you suddenly acting all friendly around me? You feeling ok?" I asked her smiling a little as the tears stopped.  
  
"I'm not sure. I guess I felt sorry for you. You didn't want to fight us but you knew you had to. That took a lot I can guess." she said.  
  
I began to notice her swirled eyes. All the Al Bhed have that trait.  
  
I couldn't explain what I was feeling at that moment, but it felt strange.  
  
"We'll be going to Bevelle tomorrow. You should probably rest. You can use my bed tonight." she offered.  
  
"First you act nice to me and now you offer your bed? You sure I didn't hit in the head too hard?" I asked almost laughing a little.  
  
"Well you're sitting on my bed right now. I'll probably have to clean it afterward. And I'm not sleeping with you either." she told me.  
  
"Alright."  
  
I eventually just hit the pillow and slept peacefully. I hadn't slept so well in days. I didn't cry myself to sleep either. Perhaps life in Spira was picking up.  
  
I woke up and we all got off in Bevelle. It was a massive city! Much bigger than the game ever made it. I didn't care what we were here for. Just that we were working together and not fighting. 


	9. Aeon, the Dark Knight

WOW, a big hiatus. But I wanted to continue so here is chapter 9.

Chapter 9

Aeon, the Dark Knight

Bevelle was massive! No city on Earth was this large, at least no city I've ever been too.

I followed close with LeBlanc as the Gullwings were behind us.

"Our target is the New Yevon Praetor, Baralai!" Ormi shouted to us.

"A girly-man like him doesn't stand a chance without his personal guard." Logos mocked which made me laugh a little.

"So we just move in and find this guy and have him take us to Vegnagun, right?" I asked the group.

"That's the general idea love." Leblanc was quick to say. A series of Yevon guards approached us.

"Hey! It's the Gullwings! They're sided with the Youth League, get them!" the one in red shouted.

"You can take it from here loves." LeBlanc shouted as we left the Gullwings behind to fight. I wasn't worried; they've been through worse.

After a long time searching through the buildings we found nothing. Not a trace of this kid. "Where is this guy? We've been searching for hours and nothing!" I said pounding my covered arm against a wall only to have it give way. It was a switch of some kind. The floor folded out into a staircase leading down.

"Wow, I guess I should have seen this coming." I told them in awe.

The four of us went down the set of stairs and were in this large underground factory by the looks of things.

"Bevelle has always had a thing for secrets." Logos informed us.

There was a chest nearby that I opened up and found this orb.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a sphere of some kind." Ormi answered.

"A dress sphere is more like it!" I heard Rikku's chipper voice shout from behind.

"How do you use it?" I asked her.

No sooner did I ask did it activate. I changed clothes very quickly, in the blink of an eye. I was clad in a black suit of armor from head to toe and was now carrying this large two-handed sword rather than my rifle.

"It's some sort of Dark Knight. Very fashionable." LeBlanc said admiring my armor.

Then I just blacked out. I don't know how or why but I was suspended in some kind of alternate reality where I had no control over anything other than thought.

Underneath Bevelle my body began to move on its own. Everyone was unaware of the changes that took place but it wasn't good.

Going up to Ormi he punched him square in his shield. Everyone looked back at him and started shouting variations of "What was that for?"

He clutched his blade and swung at the stout man. It missed. They didn't know what to make of this change in behavior but it was clear that Ashley was no longer in control of Ashley.

"Ashley, what's wrong?" Yuna asked drawing her two guns ready to defend herself.

"Who is Ashley? Don't you mean Aeon?" LeBlanc asked. She didn't know my real name yet.

"Ashley isn't in control anymore. I am Aeon." He told them. "I am everything that Ashley wanted to be. Cool, loveable, charismatic, strong. That is why he invented me. But dealing with you Gullwings made him want to stop being me, he wanted to get away from the person he created, but he can't. I'm always there!"

With that he let loose a powerful shockwave of dark energy. It engulfed everyone and seemed to drain his or her vitality.

"Ashley would speak to you but he's going insane right now. Torn between himself and the personality he's crafted." He sneered at them all.

I had no idea how to regain control over myself. This person wasn't letting me have any say in this matter.

Everybody was rather perplexed by this sudden change in behavior. It made things easier for Aeon to have at them without much trouble.

"If you three goons would get your rears in gear!" LeBlanc shouted to Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. The three of them quickly stood ready as Aeon lunged at them.

Yuna was knocked to her feet by a big shoulder slam and Rikku felt the wrath of a swift roundhouse kick. Paine managed to trade blows with him before she was sent to the cold, mist covered, floor.

"It's been fun but I'm going to pay Vegnagun a visit. I've heard people talk about him over the years and I never got the chance to say hi." Aeon told everyone before running down a hallway.

Watching this happen made me start to realize something. "How the heck am I watching this?" I asked myself out loud.

I was still in the room where I activated the dressphere but only nobody could see or hear me it seemed. "Isn't this a little cliché?"

"That…was different." Ormi said standing to his feet.

"What made Ashley do that?" Yuna asked everyone.

"Who in the world are you talking about?" LeBlanc shouted.

"Aeon's real name is Ashley." Paine told them.

"Wait, if his real name is Ashley then why did he keep calling himself Aeon? Shouldn't he be calling himself Ashley then." Ormi said thinking that the Aeon in the Dark Knight outfit was really called Ashley.

"No. He's some weird type of mental thing that the Dark Knight brought out when Ashley put it on." She explained further.

"But…" Ormi started.

"Trust me! I'm right." Paine interrupted not wanting to waste anymore of her time.

"If Aeon's real name is Ashley then how do the three of you know this?" LeBlanc asked.

"He told us while he was on our ship when you stole that sphere." Rikku told my boss.

"Why would he tell you losers and not me? I could tell she wasn't taking this very well.

"Look, right now we need to find a way to get him to take off that costume." Yuna pleaded with everyone.

"But how? It doesn't seem like we can ask him nicely and have him remove it himself." Rikku chimed in.

"While I was fighting with him I noticed something. On his chest was this red sphere that looked like the dressphere that changed him into the Dark Knight. If we can somehow remove that from his armor I'm sure he would revert back to his former self." Paine explained.

"But he's no going to let any of us get close to him, how are we going to get it off?" Ormi asked.

"Logos, I want you to shoot it off him. You can stand far away and hit it right?" LeBlanc asked him.

"Well I could do that. The question is, should I? We are here after all to get rid of Vegnagun and Baralai." He protested. I could tell Logos still had it in for me since I embarrassed him the day I arrived here.

"I know it's a bit of a detour but we may need him for this job, and I don't want to just leave whoever that is free to run around like this." LeBlanc informed all of us.

I was touched that the boss cared about me.

As they ran after Aeon I followed too, but they didn't know that. They cornered him in a room with pyreflies all over staring into this abyss with machines on the walls.

"You followed me? I'm flattered." He said before he was met with a swift blow to the face with LeBlanc's fan. "That hurts boss."

"I am not your boss!" she yelled at him.

Rikku and Paine both attacked him at the same time, but they couldn't land a single blow. It was almost like they were defending from his attacks so they wouldn't get hit rather than him doing the same.

I saw Logos holding his pistols with remorse. I could tell he really didn't want to help me out. "Logos! Do it!" Ormi shouted catching his shield.

Shaking his head he aimed and fired a large bullet, which struck the sphere on his chest plate, and it fell out to the floor. I felt myself being pulled back into my body and when my eyes opened I was back to normal with the crimson colored sphere in front of me.

"Ashley is that you?" Yuna asked.

"Nice try, but I'm afraid it ends here." I said laughing as the grabbed Yuna's arms and said, "boo!"

Everybody was so scared, but I was just laughing out loud.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I'm back to normal now." I told them grinning ear to ear.

"OUI YCC!" Rikku shouted planting a kick to my gut.

"To your feet!" I heard LeBlanc order as I managed to rise.

"Why did you tell them your real name but not me?" she demanded to know.

"I'm sorry boss. It was very hard fighting against them. I felt it was a way to apologize to them for all I did to wrong them." I told her.

"I need time to think about this. We have to find this weapon." She said.

I was beginning to feel bad again. I could tell the boss was upset with me.

This was going to have to wait though. We still had a job to do.


	10. Things Are Gonna Change

Chapter 10

Things Are Gonna Change

Leblanc, Ormi, and Logos walked ahead of me as the Gullwings followed behind me.

"Leblanc! Please let me explain." I shouted up to her. She ignored me. I don't blame her for it; I mean I did betray her in a way.

I wasn't sure what to do. It seems the tables turned on me. At first the Gullwings hated me, and now Leblanc hates me. Why is this happening?

A man in green quickly appeared and blocked our path. "Who the heck is that?" I asked out loud.

"I am the New Yevon Praitor, Baralai. What are you seven doing down here?" His voice had an angry tone to it.

"Take us to Vegnagun right away!" Leblanc ordered.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. I need Vegnagun to execute something for me. I have to keep anyone that would harm Vegnagun away!" He said in a very bland tone this time, he reached behind his back and produced this strange pole-arm weapon. I pointed my rifle at him.

Baralai dashed at the Gullwings with amazing speed, he blew right past me knocking me down.

The four engaged in combat and I stood back up and prepared to fire at Baralai when Leblanc finally said something to me.

"Let them be. We're leaving!" she told me before turning around and walking towards the way we entered.

I looked at them fighting and didn't know what to do. The Praitor wasn't like those guards we encountered when we entered Bevelle; he was in a league of his own. I was a little nervous that he might be too much for the Gullwings.

"Go! We can handle this!" Rikku shouted to me flipping backwards to avoid being hit.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Please, we'll be fine!" Yuna shouted dodging left and right trying to find time to return fire at him.

I put my rifle away and ran to catch up to Leblanc. The four of us exited and were soon back at her chateau. I returned to my room and sat for a while. I didn't know what to think right now. I know Leblanc is probably a little pissed about what I did to her, but I was hoping she'd forgive me.

A goon came by and gave me a message. It was a letter from Leblanc.

"Dear whoever you are,

I don't know if your name is Ashley or Aeon, it doesn't matter anymore. It will be awhile until I can forgive you for lying to me like that, and not just lying but telling the Gullwings the information first. Until I can find it in my heart to accept you apology I don't want you here. When I'm ready to have you back I'll send for you, don't worry, I'll find you. Just don't come near Guadosalam until I'm ready for you, I can't deal with you now.

Leblanc

P.S. If you are still wondering you aren't kicked out of the Syndicate. Just suspended, but you can still find spheres if you'd like."

So that was it then, I was out on the street like when I got here. Things seemed to come round full swing for me.

I packed some things into my backpack, a couple books, some food (what little I had), a case of ammunition I had made, and a map of Spira. I had a pouch of gil and kept that in one of my large pockets.

It was around 1200 gil; so I wasn't exactly well off. I made sure I had everything before finally taking a few steps out of Guadosalam, my last steps inside it for a long time.

I made my way towards the Moonflow. It was sad leaving, Leblanc must really be upset with me, she didn't even tell me in person. At least I'm technically in the Leblanc Syndicate still. Where should I go now?

"Did you hear about this sphere at the bottom of the Moonflow?" I overheard a man tell his friend at this tourist booth.

"Yeah, some people said that it was so deep you'd need some heavy duty machina to get to it." His friend replied.

"Except the machina ended up to be too large to enter, it seems only big enough for a person to fit inside." The first one said.

"A sphere? That's it!" I said running towards the edge of the Moonflow. I looked at the water and thought of the obvious.

"I can't breathe underwater." I said out loud.

"That won't be a problem." A girl told me. She wasn't bad looking; average I'd say with nice short brown hair. "Swallow this. This should allow you to breathe underwater."

It was a fairly large white pill that looked like a small pearl.

"Is it safe?" I asked her.

"Of course, you can use it to see how beautiful the water is on the other side." She said with a smile as I downed the pill.

I fell over coughing and heaving after it cleared my throat. I almost felt like puking until the pain and pressure I felt subsided.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you about it being a little painful after you ingest it." She said giggling a little leaning over me.

I got to my feet and just smiled a little at her before running into the waters.

I was very nervous at first. I dunked my head under the water and inhaled. I expected it to cause me to choke but instead the water entered my body and seemed to vanish when I exhaled. The only bad thing was it felt a little uncomfortable breathing the water.

"Must be how people play Blitzball." I thought to myself.

I dove down further and the image of this big city appeared. I remember Lulu mentioning a big machina city eventually became so heavy it fell into the Moonflow and sank to the bottom. The sphere must be down in there somewhere, but it was so massive I didn't know where to begin. There was a large series of lights to my left further down so I began there.

It looked like some sort of underwater camp was set up down here. Perhaps some Al Bhed came down here hoping to find the sphere and set up a station here. It wasn't a resting ground, more like they set up a bunch of equipment here to monitor things.

Everything was still operating, but there wasn't anybody there to check the equipment. I looked at one of the monitors and it looked like it was measuring seismic activity in this large hole close to my location. If I were reading this right the hole would eventually collapse. The sphere must be down there!

I checked to see if my rifle was still working and fired a shot out. The slug traveling through the water like a torpedo splitting the rock it struck in half.

Good thing I prepared several rounds of "Underwater Ammo" awhile back. I read about them in the same book I learned how to make Multiblast. I was hoping nobody stole my backpack either. I had to leave it on the shore because I didn't want some of the stuff inside getting wet.

I journeyed down into this mysterious hole in the water. The depth was starting to get to me, but I knew I could hold out down here for a while still. I swam down through the crack until I reached this large chamber. It looked like some sort of reactor or large machine at the least.

Suddenly something blew past me. I looked around trying to find the source and it was this large fish with spines all over its body and two menacing eyes. One eye seemed strange though. It swam into a wall and created a hole as it left. The whole room rumbled.

"I take it this thing is the cause of all this seismic activity. If I'm not careful it could bring this entire thing down on me." I said to myself.

I went after it down this submerged hallway and found out what happened to most of the men that set up that camp. At least fourteen bodies were floating in this hallway. All of them were dead since they weren't moving at all. That fish must have killed them.

I continued forward and the fish was trapped in a large cylinder shaped room. It came at me again, but I managed to swim to the side to dodge it. I fired a slug at it, but the projectile merely deflected off the creature's hide.

It turned and opened up its mouth to chomp on me. I swung my blade at it and it went to the side not wanting to be hit. I couldn't do that again, swinging my weapon underwater was much harder than on the land, it required too much force to be effective down here.

It was after me again and when it opened up again I fired into its mouth. The slug struck the uvula like object that was glowing and the creature roared in pain as it died. No pyreflies flew from it though.

I swam up to it and looked at it. The right eye was loose. I grabbed it and found out it was solid. I pulled the object out and it seems that it was a sphere and not an eye. I'm guessing it lost its real eye and this sphere got lodged in there.

I had my prize; it was time to get out. I swam back towards the way I came down. Once in the hallway I heard the fish roar to life again. It was angry with me and started to swim at me.

I gasped under the water creating several bubbles and wasted no time taking off. It chased me down up until it hit the hole I swam down into. It wasn't large enough to fit but was slowly buried by rocks falling in the hole at me.

I dug my way up through all the debris as the pit collapsed on it. I looked down and saw pyreflies emerge from the ruins.

"Guess that did it in."

I wasted no time returning to the surface, only stopping once to admire the beauty of this once proud machina city, which looked like something a famous painter would create. I wish I could enjoy this more. The ability to breathe underwater made me love to swim again. The flow of liquid around my entire body, the sounds, and the feeling on swimming was something wonderful that I enjoyed on Earth. There it is again, Earth. Will I return? Is it even possible?

I made it to shore and was glad to see my backpack was still there and everything was where it should be.

"Well at least I have something to give to Leblanc for when I'm allowed back in. Where to go now?" I asked myself. It was almost nightfall and the sun was setting.

"Maybe Cora is still in Luca. I know she'd probably be happy to see me." I said running towards the Shoopuf station to hitch a ride, but it would be a long walk to Luca.


	11. Are You Aeon Or Ashley?

Chapter 11

Are You Aeon Or Ashley?

The Shoopuf ride was relaxing. I fell asleep actually. It was a bizarre dream.

I seemed to recall that large battle underneath Bevelle between everybody and me. It was after I equipped the Dark Knight dressphere and I lost control over my will, thoughts, and body. The fact everybody had to fight an evil me wasn't the problem.

"What brought him out?" I muttered under my breath waking up slowly.

Was Aeon a part of my mind who really was somebody that I wanted to be? Is it possible that he was some sort of fantasy I created for myself deep in my mind, but the Dark Knight brought it out in me?

He really was dissimilar from myself. I'm normally a shy kid, but since I took the name of Aeon I was able to start over life differently and try and shape who I wanted to be rather than just accept that I'm a kid named Ashely who is shy and not very good around people. I became nervous now. Everybody I've met so far knew me as Aeon and not as Ashley MacNielle.

"Will I be able to face Cora?" I asked myself.

"Who are you talking to kid?" A traveling merchant asked me.

"Nobody. Sorry." I apologized without making eye contact.

"No need to say sorry lad. O'aka the Twenty-Third! At your service!" He introduced.

"My name is Ashley." I said faintly.

"You seem like a shy type." He said to me.

"Yeah. Pretty obvious." I answered.

Normally I don't talk much, but if you talk to me I'll say things back. It's just making conversation that I find hard.

"You know something lad? You should just bite the bullet and speak up to people. Not very difficult when you look at it." He told me.

"To some people."

"Did something happen to you?" He asked me.

"I used to be a talker until I realized it was all a lie I made about myself. I was just pretending. Now I'm back to being me." I explained.

"You know I think that maybe you're running from that part of you." O'aka explained.

"What do you mean? It was never a part of me to begin with."

"You might think that, but I believe that this part of you that you created was just a part of yourself you never knew you had, and now you seem to think that it was just some story you made. I think that this part of you is waiting to be released." He told me.

A small silence passed for a few moments before I spoke up again.

"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard." I said looking at him.

"Well, I'm a merchant for a reason. If you wanted some sort of motivational speaker I'm afraid that was all I'm good for." He explained to me.

"Thanks anyway. Maybe you helped a little." I told him as the Shoopuf reached the destination.

I walked the rest of the way towards Luca. It was nightfall already and walking along Mushroom Rock Road was scary after dark. I could barely see in front of me, let alone a fiend waiting to lunge at me.

A big yellow bird walked by me, turned around, and then stopped in front of me.

"You're a pretty thing." I told it. It seemed to smile, in its own way, at me. It had a very shiny set of feathers. "You mind if I ride?" I asked it.

It bent down as if waiting for me to mount up. I tried, but fell right off onto the road. Three attempts later and I still couldn't do it.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not good enough for this. Never thought riding a Chocobo would be so hard." I told him. I continued walking and the bird followed by my side anyway.

"I like you. Probably the only person I can talk to without feeling shy. Maybe because you can't talk back to me."

It made a wark sound at me.

"Well at least not in a way I could understand." I told him laughing as another Chocobo came up along my other side.

A woman was riding it, she looked lovely, but she seemed to prove that Spira lets you get away with walking around half naked.

"You're out late. Where are you headed?" she asked me.

"Luca, how much further is it?" I asked her. Odd, I didn't expect this much courage for talking.

"On foot you'd reach it in the morning. If you were to go by Chocobo it would be much faster, you'd probably make it in around 10 minutes." She informed me.

"Sure, but I don't know how to get on this guy here." I said motioning to the bird by my side.

"I'll help." She said dismounting. She grabbed my around the waist and lifted me up to its back. I blushed a little.

"I'll lead the way." She said marching ahead on her ride, but was close enough to carry on a conversation with me.

We talked the entire time. I told her about me being involved in the Leblanc Syndicate. She seemed happy to hear that because she was in the Youth League and Leblanc was sided with them too. She seemed to have the biggest crush on their leader. A man named Nooj.

We reached Luca and were almost sad to see her leave. I never spoke to someone like that before. Maybe all that jazz about me being shy because I was being Ashley, not Aeon, was a bunch of bullshit. I'm who I am, no matter what you call me. I'm as verbose and outgoing being Ashley as I was being Aeon.

"My name is Lucil. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself first. What is your name?" She asked me.

"My name…my name is Ashley." I said with a big smile.

"Well it was nice to make your acquaintance." Lucil said extending her hand.

I just dashed up and hugged her tight. She seemed confused.

"I'm sorry. You just helped me realize something during out trip here and I'm glad I understand now." I said waving goodbye as she took her Chocobo and the one I rode back to the Youth League.

"Cora might still be in the hotel. I'll have a look." I said heading into the heart of Luca.

Luca was very bright at the night and still had people around, not as many as in the day, but it was a very healthy balance. The wind blew through my hair and felt very comforting. I was still very tired having not slept yet so I picked up the pace.

I went inside and managed to make it up to the room and knocked on the door.


	12. Chasing The Gullwings

Chapter 12

Chasing the Gullwings

I went inside the private room. She was standing there, in some average looking clothes. Long pair of tight pants and a tight shirt with very long sleeves.

"Cora, I was hoping to find you." I told her running up to her.

"Aeon? I didn't expect you." She said.

"Please, my real name is Ashley. I've gotten rid of that silly nickname." I said to her.

"That's your real name? Nice to finally know it." She said.

"Why are you packing?" I asked her. She was loading this backpack with all sorts of items like she was going away.

"Sphere hunting was fun, but I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm leaving the Syndicate." She told me facing me once she finished zipping up her pack.

"Oh, sorry to have you leave." I said to her.

"What are you doing in Luca so late?"

"I got suspended from the group. I can't go back to Guadosalam right now so I figured I could come to you." I said to her.

"Why me?"

"We're friends aren't we?"

"I…didn't think you'd want to be friends with me." Cora said blushing.

"Why not? You seem like you have lots of friends."

"Not many male friends. I've always been seen differently with them. Not so much with you though."

"What made me different?" I asked becoming curious.

"You were interesting in my feelings. Most of the goons that came here just wanted me to make them relaxed rather than just sit and talk. Many of the females in the Syndicate like you. You're popular among everyone in the Leblanc Syndicate, but not as much as Leblanc herself.

"Wow. I don't know what to say." I stated sitting down on the fluffy bed Cora had her stuff on.

"I like you Aeo…Ashley." She said sitting on the bed with me placing a hand on my chest.

Her hand gave off a warmth that sent a wonderful feeling through my entire body. I haven't felt something like this in a long time. Her touch seemed to release my body from a sort of prison I was keeping it in.

And we laid down on the bed together that entire night; Cora was in my arms the entire time. I had removed the armor around my left arm. She was shocked to see all the self-mutilation I had inflicted, but she just simply caressed me.

I knew those scars would be there forever, but perhaps there was a white magic user in Spira that would be able to heal those wounds, they made me mad looking at them.

I managed to drift to sleep that night finally. It was a peaceful sleep. I dreamt of nothing.

In the morning I awoke to find Cora had already left. She left me a note on the bed.

"Dear Ashley,

Sorry I left you without saying anything. I'm off to live with my cousin Nadia in the Calm Lands. Stop by sometime if you'd like.

I enjoy spending time with you, but I gotta think for a while. You probably should too.

Since I figure you don't have enough money to stay until Leblanc forgives you I figure you might be able to convince the Gullwings to take you in. Might be a long shot, but I overheard rumors that you were friends with them.

Anyway (I was babbling) I heard they were looking for a sphere near Kilika Island. Be careful, I hear that the Youth League is getting really rough, especially to people like you or the Gullwings, even though we're on their side. They don't want anyone at the temple.

You're a strong kid, I'm sure you could manage it.

Cora"

"So that's it then? I'll see her again." I told myself. I remember Nadia from FFX; I had her on my Blitzball team. She was an Al Bhed if I remember correctly. I thought back and recall that Cora had swirls in her eyes, like all the Al Bhed.

Kilika wouldn't be far if I took a boat to get there. I ran towards the docks and managed to hop on a boat before it set off. Cost all 1200 gil I had too. I either find the Gullwings or swim back to Leblanc eventually.

The boat made it to Kilika easy enough. I ran headlong off to the temple and found there was this large wooden barrier set up there now. A number of guards were stationed there making things look tricky.

I saw Yuna there waiting for a chance to run through the gate without being spotted. A woman was busy distracting a guard.

It would be harder for me to barge right in. I'm guessing that woman is going to just go home once Yuna slips on by. Perhaps I can swim around them.

I ran away from the barrier to avoid some suspicion. I dove into the waters and swam around as deep as I could go. I kept under the wooden docks as much as I could because the water was so clean and pure you could see through most of it. I stayed in the shadows as much as I could.

Breathing underwater was much more comfortable this time around. I was getting used to it quickly. I was well within the forest area so I made my way to land I could climb out of and was inside the forest.

Something hit my from above.

"A twig?" I said looking up. Three shadows were running past my position.

"That must be them! I have to hurry." I shouted seeing two armed men approach me.

I fired a slug into their right shoulders. They dropped their weapons and cradled the wound. They'd be useless fighting now until they healed.

I ran around the path I was on and had to blast by a few guard posts and I reached the steps up to the temple.

The whole place was shaking and the flames were going crazy! There was something wrong inside, but no matter how much I tried to get inside I wasn't allowed inside.

"The High Summoner entered a long time ago. She is doing all she can!" A monk informed me.

"What if Yuna is in danger? She could use my help!" I pleaded, but he didn't seem to care.

Suddenly, the flames became a bright orange color instead of the light blue they were moments ago. The violent rumble of the earth stopped too. Whatever was going on had stopped.

"Hey there he is!" I heard a powerful voice shout behind me. Some of those guards followed me here.

I ran away from them and tried to hide but they were out in full force after me.

Off in the distance I saw a familiar sight, the Celsius!

"Oh shit! I'd better hurry!" I shouted running in its direction.

"Stay where you are! Stop! He's not stopping!" the guy in charge yelled when he noticed me running full speed without signs of slowing down.

By the time they raised their guns to shoot at me I had sprinted past them all and saw Yuna, Rikku, and Paine hop onto the ramp on the underside of the airship getting in.

"YUNA!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. After all I was roughly 10 yards away from them.

She turned around and saw me bolting as fast as my legs could take me. The ship was still lifting off. There was a cliff edge between me and her and I had no choice.

I jumped. I felt myself lift off the ground and felt the air hit my face. My only thought was reaching that ramp.

I hit the ramp. My chest struck the steel and I started to fall off. My left hand clutched for something, anything! I held on tight to the edge of the ramp as the ship lifted further into the sky.

My hand was slipping quickly and I began to fall, but my plummet was halted all of a sudden. I looked up and saw Yuna was holding my arm guard with both hands, but she was about to fall over too!

We fell and then stopped. Rikku was above Yuna grabbing her by the leg. Again we fell and I spotted Paine above holding onto Rikku's leg with all her might.

"I know this isn't the time, but Yunie sure has it going on!" Rikku shouted above the sound of the wind.

"Rikku, you'll make me drop him!" Yuna said holding on tight.

With one giant burst of energy Paine was able to pull Rikku up, and the two of them were able to get Yuna and I up to them as the ramp closed.

"Thank you so much!" I said breathing hard from all the excitement.

"Well you sure risked a lot to get to us. What's the occasion?" Paine asked me crossing her arms.

"Leblanc kicked me out of the Syndicate for a while. I have no money and was hoping you'd take me in." I told them.

"Sure, you are welcome to stay with us for now." Yuna said almost immediately.

"Thank you so much Yuna." I said catching my breath. I had the urge to just give her a giant hug and I did. I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground and spun around once.

Rikku and Paine seemed a little surprised. I gave Rikku one afterwards. Paine got one too, but she didn't seem to like it. I was just overcome with joy that they took me in.

At least for now I was happy to know I had friends here I could count on.


End file.
